My family loves to make as many summer meals on the grill as possible. The grill makes everything taste better, plus who wants to be cooking in the kitchen when it’s 80+ degrees outside! One of my favorite summer dishes is grilled pepper salad. My family is Portuguese and this salad is a summer staple, especially paired with fresh grilled sardines. Ok, sardines aren’t for everyone, but this salad goes equally well with burgers and dogs, or a nice steak.
Bell Peppers
So, how do you grill peppers? It is very easy and fun. I introduced my husband to this salad before we got married and he quickly became a master at perfectly grilled peppers. First, place whole peppers directly on the grill over medium heat. Close the cover and let cook for a few minutes. Open cover and rotate the peppers. Repeat until the peppers are blackened evenly and the skin starts to get wrinkly.
Grilled Peppers – Almost Done
Grilled Peppers – Done!
An old trick is to place the cooked peppers in a brown paper bag for about 10 minutes straight off the grill. This will make removing the skins much easier.
Peppers into Paper Bag
Removing skins
Remove skins from the peppers by sliding them off with your fingers. I recommend doing this under cold water because the peppers will be hot and it is easier to wash away discarded skins. Also remove the inside seeds, webbing, and top to separate the de-skinned flesh.
Sliced peppers
I like to slice the peppers into thin pieces, as shown above. I also add sliced tomatoes and sliced red onion to complete the salad. Everything tastes best using room temperature tomatoes and onion, with slightly warm peppers.
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced red onion
Finally a simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil, a few splashes of red wine vinegar and a generous amount of sea salt complete the salad. I don’t like to put quantities for the dressing because everyone’s taste is different. I like vinegar, so I go a little heavy on the vinegar compared to most people. Dress it based on your taste preferences. You will need a fair amount of salt to bring out all the yummy flavor of the tomatoes and peppers. This salad is best served immediately. However, I do like to use leftovers the next day on top of salad greens.
Grilled Pepper Salad
This salad is always a crowd pleaser in a casual, burgers and dogs, setting, or a fancier outdoor get together. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does.
- 3 bell peppers (any color, but a variety is ideal)
- 2 cups sliced tomatoes (about 2-3 large), sliced thin
- ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
- extra virgin olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- sea salt
- Grill bell peppers until blackened and skins can be removed easily.
- Remove skins and seeds/inner webbing.
- Slice cooked pepper into thin slices
- Add cooked pepper, tomatoes and red onion to a bowl
- Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top.
- Add a few splashes of red wine vinegar
- Add sea salt to taste (a fair amount will be needed).
- Mix until all vegetables are evenly coated.
